With Florida Republicans working anew to pass legislation that will make it legal for women to be armed against sexual predators on campus, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey stresses that Campus Carry is part of exercising the Second Amendment. He believes Open Carry is part of exercising the Second Amendment too.
Florida Carry reports Ivey Sheriff supports a recognition of “the right to bear arms openly and on campus.” Moreover, he believes such legislation will be passed in the coming legislative session.
Ivey stresses that more and more people are recognizing the importance of carrying a gun for self-defense, which is contributing to Florida’s boom in concealed carry. He believes this growing recognition is changing attitudes and attracting more support for carrying on campus and carrying openly as well.
Breitbart News previously reported that Campus Carry legislation sponsored by representative Greg Steube (R-Sarasota) and senator Greg Evers (R-Baker) passed out of committee on September 16 and will be one of the first pieces of legislation considered when the legislature convenes in January 2016.
The move to arm women and other law-abiding citizens on campus for self-defense is opposed by Florida’s League of Women Voters (FLWV) and by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. It is supported by rape victim and Florida State University student Shayna Lopez-Rivas, who says she is “resolved to never be a victim again.” The Tampa Bay Times reports that Lopez-Rivas refuses to be “a sitting duck for [another] rapist or a shooter” as she stresses how much she would “feel safer” on the FSU campus if she were allowed to keep her gun with her for self-defense.
The effectiveness of using guns to stop sexual assault is an under-reported fact in our country. According to The Washington Post:
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts in-person interviews with several thousand persons annually, for the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). In 1992-2002, over 2,000 of the persons interviewed disclosed they had been raped or sexually assaulted. Of them, only 26 volunteered that they used a weapon to resist. In none of those 26 cases was the rape completed; in none of the cases did the victim suffer additional injury after she deployed her weapon.
Note: Out of more than 2,000 instances of rape or sexual assault 26 women admitted to using “a weapon” to stop the attack. In each instance of these 26 instances the attack ended without additional injury being incurred by the woman. This is part of why Florida’s GOP is championing legislation to give women the option of carrying a gun on campus for self-defense.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.